The long-term objective of this project is to provide clinical, demographic and laboratory-derived information about xerostomia which will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology of this condition. The extent and consequences of xerostomia are acquiring increased importance as patterns of oral disease change in response to changing population dynamics, pharmacotherapeutics and preventive dentistry. Little is known about the prevalence of xerostomia in the general, non-institutionalized, community-dwelling population. The present proposal is designed to address this imbalance. The specific aims are to: 1) Develop and refine a methodology which will permit the simultaneous examination of selected independent and dependent variables associated with xerostomia. 2) Test the refined methods in pilot studies. 3) Establish the protocol on the basis of the information derived from the pilot studies. 4) Apply the selected methods to a suitable population for determining the prevalence of xerostomia. 5) Describe the prevalence of xerostomia within the context of the interrelationships between demographic characteristics and oral conditions. During the first year of this project, stimulation and collection techniques for obtaining whole saliva samples will be assessed across a broad age range. Of particular interest is the applicability of the test procedure to young adults and the elderly alike. Secondly, a data management form for recording demographic information and oral findings will be developed and pre-tested, as will a patient questionnaire for eliciting subjective complaints of xerostomia. Thirdly, a battery of oral clinical examinations will be evaluated. This array of examinations will consist of oral conditions and pathology, status of the dentition, and periodontal status (plaque accumulation, gingivitis and calculus). During the second year, the final protocol will be established, and a suitable population will be identified for determining the prevalence of xerostomia. The broad-based, large scale study will be a descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological survey. The data will be evaluated using correlation analyses, and multi-variate analyses of variance and co-variance. The significance of this project is that it will provide the first epidemiologic data for assessing the prevalence of xerostomia in the general adult population.